The first day of the week-long drive, Feb. 7, was called “Powerful Protein Day,” and students brought peanut butter, canned beans, soups and chili and dropped it off into plastic bins located at the base of the staircase in the school’s main entryway.

The drive continued over four more school days, with Thursday being “Fantastic Fruits Day,” Friday being “Vibrant Veggies Day,” Monday being “Great Grains Day” and Tuesday being “Dynamite Dessert Day.”

Fifth-grader Elli Snyder, president of the Student Leadership Team, said the goal was to collect 2,018 food items, adding that the grade level that ended up bringing the most items would win a pajama and movie party in the school library.

While it was a tight race between second and fifth grade right up to Tuesday morning, Katherine Bleak, the school’s life skills coach and adviser for the Student Leadership Team, said that after Tuesday’s items were counted, the second grade class was the overall winner with 633 items. Fifth-graders came in second place with 560 items, and the kindergartners placed third with 301 items.

The schoolwide total was 2,119 items collected, Bleak said, meaning they exceeded their goal by 101 items.

“The kids did such a great job organizing this food drive,” she said. ” I couldn’t be prouder of the kids, staff and parents of North Elementary.”

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About the Author

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News. He covered news, features, and sports as a part-time reporter for the Times-Independent, Moab's weekly community newspaper, and has contributed stories and photos to various other media outlets. He also taught high school English, journalism, and computer classes for 12 years, and was the school's yearbook and student newspaper adviser. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters, and also have two young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.